Posted on 02/26/2003 7:59:09 AM PST by Stand Watch Listen
Northeast Ohio Agencies Mobilizing Volunteers To Cheer U.S. Soldiers In Event Of War With Iraq
By Carol Biliczky, Beacon Journal Staff Writer
When Holy Family School teacher Annmarie Keogh asked students to bring in gifts for U.S. troops, she got a deluge -- 33 boxes of shampoo, playing cards and other items.
''They were so excited about being asked,'' Keogh said. ''It just grew until we had a huge project.''
The Stow Catholic school is one of the good Samaritans poised to help troops and their families during a pending war with Iraq. Agencies geared specifically to help the morale of troops are especially busy.
''We want them to know that we care about the warrior next door,'' said Phyliss Hammerstrom of Hudson, who heads the United Service Organization's Northern Ohio office in Broadview Heights. ''We're still with you.''
The local office is mobilizing volunteers to write letters to troops, donate money for satellite phone cards to give to soldiers and assemble stationery kits with get-well cards, sympathy cards and other items.
The thinking is that these last items will be hard to find in the desert or on ship and will be most appreciated.
Probably the local USO's most expensive project is the refurbishing of its canteen at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. Hammerstrom's vision is to turn the hospitality room into a ''cyber canteen'' where soldiers can e-mail their friends and family.
A benefactor has donated computers, but the USO still needs $50,000 for new furniture, lighting, flooring and more.
Then there are baby layette packages to assemble for soldiers' expectant wives, booties and blankets to crochet, and ''boodle'' -- gifts for troops -- to buy, assemble and ship.
Staffing is tight to do all that, with just two employees, one of them part time, and about 75 volunteers.
At the Summit County Chapter of the American Red Cross, two projects in the offing may kick off in coming months.
The chapter has received several requests for support groups, which were popular during Operation Desert Storm and may be held again if the local office gets more requests.
And the Summit County chapter may begin to amass quality-of-life items to send to the troops -- playing cards, soft-drink mixes, candy and the like.
The chapter is waiting for a green light from the national office, which is overseeing the quality-of-life project to ensure that troops don't get a deluge of gifts now and be forgotten later.
Meanwhile, the Salvation Army in Akron is offering financial aid to soldiers' families who may be falling a bit behind because of living on military pay. The national office is providing writing materials, counseling and more to the troops themselves.
But there is a down side to the donations of stuff -- namely, the need for money to ship them.
The USO's Hammerstrom said organizations have to raise money for postage when they ask for donations.
''Postage is part of the issue,'' she said. ''It's not just enough to give the product.''
She has a challenge along that line now. Toledo Girl Scouts asked people who bought their cookies to buy an extra box for a soldier. That worked so well that the Scouts are bringing a van loaded with cookies to the USO this month.
''I'm sure that shipping them is going to be expensive. But that's part of where your money goes when you give to the USO,'' Hammerstrom said.
Shipping costs are also a problem that faces Holy Family School now. Its donations have been sitting in an office, boxed and ready to go, for weeks because of the high cost of shipping them -- $1,700, Keogh said.
Although the USO has offered to chip in $300, Keogh is looking for other sources of money. Her plan is to ship the donations to Air Force Sgt. Richard Keogh, her brother, who is stationed in the United Arab Emirates. He will pass them out to troops there.
Operation USO Care Package - Individual and corporate donations accepted
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